The days of the sleepy fishing village here are long gone, following Jack Nicklaus’s powerhouse course designs that started the Cabo golf boom more than two decades ago.
But to continue to grow as a must-visit golf destination, areas always need new layouts by new designers and that’s exactly what you have with the longtime Nicklaus rival, Greg Norman, whose design of Solmar Golf Links on the shores of the Pacific Ocean is his first in the region.
Combined with the large resort group Grand Solmar, you have two proven winners designed to meet the challenge of the new and ever-growing Cabo golf scene.
While most of the new courses in the area are private, the Norman course — part of the Rancho San Lucas development — stands out as open to all, whether staying at the massive adjacent luxury resort or elsewhere in the area, including Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo.
It’s certainly much easier to take a short shuttle ride from the scenic resort to the golf course, assuming you can tear yourself away from the food, the pools and the views, but once you arrive at the large red-roof clubhouse, you’ll know you’ve made the right choice.
What makes Solmar Golf Links, a par-72 course at 7,240 yards from the back tees, special is that Norman and his team — who have done course work elsewhere worldwide — took the natural scenic canvas and routed the holes into a challenging yet pleasing combination.
The ocean holes are spectacular, but so are the huge sandy dunes, desert landscape and expansive greens.
The fun starts at the beginning on the par-5 opening hole, which is long and tight, with desert on both sides. A decent drive and approach shot give you a chance to start your round with a par or even birdie, which is exactly the confidence boost you want when taking on the Norman design.
The huge sandy dunes make their first appearance on the par 4 second hole, a slight dogleg to the right with desert running the entire left side. At Solmar Golf Links, a straight drive is rewarded, keeping players out of the desert and bunkers.
There isn’t much water on the course itself, but the ocean is ever-present, making its first thundering appearance behind the second green and to the right of the par 3 third hole.
Another benefit of a fun, resort-style course like Solmar Golf Links is the chance to rest and relax between challenges. A large comfort station comes into play on both the 6th and 12th holes, as well as near the 17th tee.
You can get all manner of drinks here, this is Mexico after all, but there is a limit on shots, the alcoholic kind you can order, not the golfing variety dolled out in large measure. The best food option is locally made tacos paired with a mango smoothie, if you want to save the hard stuff for the clubhouse.
On the back nine, the course turns more toward the ocean, and the results are stunning. Unlike many courses where prime ocean lots are set aside for multimillion-dollar homes, the best views at Solmar Golf links are from the golf course itself.
The par-5 13th tumbles downhill toward the ocean behind the green. A large dry creek bed runs diagonally in front of the green, with bunkers along the right side guarding the large green.
There is not a better single hole than the signature par 4, where Norman cut a long, straight layout with the ocean stretching along the left side of the fairway and massive dunes rising on the right. The large green is protected along the left side of the fairway and massive dunes rising on the right. The large green is protected by a front-left bunker. It’s a picture-perfect moment — the ideal combination of scenery and hole design.
The par-4 15th is an uphill dogleg right with huge dunes on both sides while, the par-3 17th is shaped as an island green with water on three sides of the putting surface.
Each of the holes is named for a different whale species. According to the scorecard, there are more than 90 species of whales in the world. The holes progress from Grey to Beluga to Pilot and Killer, which is fitting for the watery par-3 17th.
For a course whose tag line is, “How many times can you say Wow?” the answer is about the same as the number of whales as you can spot during the winter months.
The same can be said for the lavish resort adjacent to the golf course, The Grand Solmar Pacific Dunes. It’s one of two Grand Solmar properties in the area (the Lands End Resort is closer to downtown), but the Pacific Dunes resort is more family-friendly and golf-savvy.
You can see parts of the course from the resort, but the best views are found throughout the elevated property, which sits atop gentle hills and compacted dunes. The primary draw is the ocean, along with fishing boats of all shapes and sizes making their daily journeys past the resort, and wintertime whales surfacing and playing in clear view of the rooms.
There are more than 100 rooms here, though most are multi-bedroom suites capable of accommodating several hundred guests. Leaning into the family-friendly theme, the resort features multiple large pools, including kids’ and adults-only options. There are also large, enclosed tube water slides that twist and turn for the young, or the young at heart, along with a variety of ropes and swings.
Adult guests will appreciate the number of thatched-roof bars, where there’s no limit on shots and no golf ones to worry about.
There are three main restaurants on property: a fine-dining establishment, Anica, which also serves an excellent breakfast; an outdoor grill; and a new sports bar that opened this year, offering multiple TVs to catch the latest games. The sports bar also features air hockey, pop-a-shot, and a pool table for guests looking for a little extra competition or family fun. The Deli Café, located near the lobby, is perfect for a quick coffee, sandwich, or breakfast pastry to start the day.
Not surprisingly, the spa is outdoors, with individual treatment rooms offering views of the large beach and Pacific waters. Additional amenities include outdoor volleyball, cornhole, and two-person hammocks.
If you want to go off campus, downtown San José del Cabo is about 15 minutes away. Like much of Cabo, the area has changed over the past decade, shifting away from its Squid Row reputation — once defined by the rowdy Cabo Wabo and Giggling Marlin — toward luxury shopping, highlighted by a new mall that opened this year.
Of course, the T-shirt vendors have survived, with the best current offerings being shirts reading, “Welcome to Trump’s fun side of the wall,” or “Cabo: A fishing village with a drinking problem.”
From Solmar Golf Links, you’re relatively close to golf offerings at Quivira and Diamante, with the original area headliner, Cabo Del Sol, still offering 18 holes available to the public.
Golf, good times, food, and scenery have always been a powerful combination, but now, in the original Mexican golf hot spot, the Shark — Greg Norman — has joined the fun, and visitors are enjoying it even more because of it.